Despite big game from Nijel Pack, K-State falls to Texas A&M in Big 12/SEC Challenge
You could say that Nijel Pack was “in the zone.” It would also be fair to say that he was “on fire.”
Throughout the long history of Kansas State men’s basketball, no freshman has made more three-pointers in a single game than Pack did against Texas A&M on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Pack, a freshman guard from Indianapolis, drained eight of 14 three-point shots on his way to a career-high 26 points. It was a spectacle, and a welcome change of pace for a Wildcats team that has struggled on offense this month. But not even one of the finest shooting performances by a freshman in program history was enough to end their losing streak.
Texas A&M outlasted K-State 68-61 in a Big 12/SEC Challenge game that will go down as a giant missed opportunity for the Wildcats, who have now lost eight in a row. The result spoiled what should have been a banner day from their most valuable player.
“It sucks,” Pack said. “It only goes down if you win the game, that’s the way I see it. Players who have great games when their team loses aren’t really talked about. I feel like you can only have a great game if your team wins, because that is all that matters. If I have to have an OK for our team to win, that is what I would rather do.”
This defeat stung in a different way than their other recent losses.
Unlike a 107-59 blowout against Baylor earlier in the week, K-State was in this game until the end and led by six early in the second half. It had many chances to win only to squander them.
Most frustrating of all, this game represented their best hope of victory any time soon. It’s hard to see where they are going to pick up victories after they return to the rugged Big 12 starting Tuesday at Kansas.
The Aggies pulled away in the final moments by taking advantage of a flurry of late turnovers that began on an inbounds pass from Pack to Davion Bradford with 1:39 remaining. The score was tied at 58-58 and the Wildcats had just called a timeout to draw up a play. But Texas A&M took it away, which led to a questionable pass and a turnover from Bradford. The Aggies took advantage with a pair of free throws on the other end and never trailed again.
K-State did a solid job handling the ball against Texas A&M’s full-court pressure most of the way, but that changed in the closing minutes when Mike McGuirl, Pack and Bradford all lost the ball.
“We haven’t been in a close game in a while,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “We lost the ball a couple times and didn’t execute when it mattered.”
The Wildcats viewed this game as a mixed bag when it was over.
On one hand, K-State bounced back admirably from the most lopsided defeat in school history and played with high levels of energy. They also discovered an offensive identity that has sorely been missing over the past month while Pack was sidelined and then limited in COVID-19 protocol.
“We missed him a lot,” McGuirl said. “We knew how much we missed him when he was out. We’re happy to have him back. He’s a special young player, a player with a bright future.”
If he keeps making outside shots, perhaps the Wildcats could surprise an opponent or two as the season winds down.
“It felt great just to be able to build up my confidence,” Pack said. “My teammates kept finding me which made it even better. Just to be able to shoot the ball and see it go in is probably the best feeling for any basketball player.”
On the other hand, Pack was the only K-State player who did much of anything on offense.
While he was making eight of 14 shots from three-point range, his teammates were making two of 21. And both of those came from McGuirl. It seems as thought the Wildcats would have benefited from throwing the ball inside more often.
“It’s a bounce back for sure,” McGuirl said. “But we don’t play to come close. At the end of the day, another loss is another loss.”
Offense does seem to be the new bugaboo for this team. That’s not to say it is a finished product on defense. It still allowed 1.1 points per possession against the Aggies. But Weber said his goal coming into the game was to hold Texas A&M below 60 points.
That’s what he thought it would take to give K-State a chance at victory, given the sorry state of the team’s offense.
“We need to have other guys step up and make some shots,” Weber said. “If a couple of those go down it might’ve changed the game.”
The Wildcats have been waiting for someone to get hot and deliver a big game all month, and it finally happened during a morning game against the Aggies in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Still, it wasn’t enough.
Perhaps a better start would have helped K-State (5-13, 1-8 Big 12). The first half gave the term “rock fight” a bad name with Texas A&M (8-7, 2-6 SEC) taking a 21-11 lead and then falling into an offensive coma. The Wildcats pulled to within 24-23 at halftime and outscored the Aggies from that point on, but missing their first 12 three-pointers was too much to overcome.
Not even Pack’s hot-shooting hand could win them the game.
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 1:24 PM.